230 MEANS OF DEFENCE OF INSECTS. 



commending to you. One morning I observed on 

 my study window a little lady-bird yellow with black 

 dots {CoccineUa l^-punctata, L.) — " You are very 

 pretty," said I to myself, " and I should like to have a 

 collection of such creatures." Immediately 1 seized 

 my prey, and not knowing how to destroy it, I im- 

 mersed it in geneva. After leaving it in this situa- 

 tion a day and a night, and seeing it without motion, 

 I concluded it was dead, and laid it in the sun to 

 dry. It no sooner, however, felt the warivith than it 

 began to move, and afterward flew away. From this 

 time I began to attend to insects. — The chamaeleon-lly 

 (Stratj/omis C/tamceleon, F.) was observed by Swam- 

 raerdam to retain its vital powers after an immersion 

 equally long in spirits of wine. Gcedart affirms that 

 this fly, on which account it was called chamaeieon, 

 will live nine months Avithout food : a circumstance, 

 if true, more wonderful than what I formerly re- 

 lated to you with respect to one of the aphidivorous 

 flies'*. — If insects will escape unhurt from a bath of 

 alcohol, it may be supposed that one of water will 

 be less to be dreaded by them. To this tliey are 

 often exposed in rainy weather, when ruts and hol- 

 lows are filled with water : but when the water is 

 dried up, it is seldom that any dead carcases of in- 

 sects are to be seen in them. Mr. Curtis submerged 

 the fragile aphides for sixteen hours ; when taken 

 out of the water they immediately showed signs of life, 

 and out of four, three survived the experiment : — an 

 immersion of twenty-four hours, however, proved fa- 

 tal to them^. 



^ Bib. NcH. ii. c. 3. Vol. I. 2d. Ed. p. -100. " Linn. Trans, vi. 84. 



